


The Job

by AdrenalineRevolver



Series: Goddamnit Enjolras [6]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Enjolras Is Bad At Feelings, Families of Choice, M/M, Montparnasse's reputation is obliterated and its great, Sorry Jehan, feral kittens, fluff with accidental feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 13:25:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16619804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdrenalineRevolver/pseuds/AdrenalineRevolver
Summary: Montparnasse ends up with another job and Jehan and Enjolras end up discussing the obvious.





	The Job

“I found you a job.” Enjolras randomly brought up over breakfast. 

Montparnasse groans loudly. “Fuck. Fuck me. Fuck you.” 

“Listen, it’s up your alley. It’s nights, you don’t need any formal education, and you can move around your shifts.” 

“How much?” What the hell could this be? Drug running?

“Twelve bucks an hour but no-one will see you working there. I even batted my eyelashes until you were put in the good section.” 

Montparnasse could tell Enjolras probably wanted to bitch about minimum wage shit or something. “What the fuck do you have me doing?”

“Just put on your cheapest clothes and I’ll drive you there at 5:45. Your shift starts at six.”

“Today?” He sounds personally offended.

“Yep.” The bastard seems so proud of himself.

“Jesus Christ.” Suddenly Montparnasse wanted to chase his eggs with a nice cup of bleach.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Montparnasse obliged him when the time finally rolled around and he dreaded every second of it. It turned out that he had plenty of things that were actually pretty cheap they just didn’t look cheap. Skinny jeans and a black t-shirt would do. 

The drive fortunately wasn’t that long which meant that he could walk if he didn’t feel like riding around in Enjolras’ stupid prius. 

He stared for a moment as they pulled up to the shelter. “So are you returning me?”

Enjolras snorts in laughter “No jackass this is the place, now if anyone asks you’re my half-brother who tragically separated from us and you’ve only just escaped our biological father’s path of destruction.” 

Even now Enjolras’ fake little story sounded sympathetic, he could really just do whatever the hell he wanted if he had no morals and kept his temper out of shit. “Who knows, could be true.” 

“Exactly.” He pulled into one of the parking places and hopped out. 

The older woman behind the counter practically beamed at the two of them when they walked in. Jesus, Enjolras had laid it on thick hadn’t he?  
“Is this our new fur-end?” She smiles.

Montparnasse can feel his soul leave his body. He can distantly hear Enjolras confirm. He agreed to this. This is his life now. Some old woman was making puns at him. 

He follows Enjolras and the woman in a bit of a stupor. He had a fucking job. A fucking routine like a boring old person. He had just wanted to steal. Was that too much to ask? Now he was in hell and hell had puns. Of course it did.

A little spitting sound brought him out of his internal torment. When he turned to look this bundle of kittens were backed up into their cage and hissing at him as if they could somehow intimidate him. 

“They’re perfect.” He comments.

“I’m glad you like them! Some people are put off by hissy kittens, at this age they’re just little spitfires who think that the whole world’s gonna get em.”

“When you’re small all you have is hissing.” He holds the back of his hand up to the cage so they can smell it. “You just have to hope that people fall for it.” Montparnasse grins when they lose their minds.

“You’re already ahead of the curve since you’re working back here in the cattery.”

“..Really?”

“Yep, our slots back here fill up fast when there’s an opening but we had space on the night shift. Of course there’s the cleaning and feeding but you’ll also be socializing the cats, playing with them, and when kitten season rolls around bottle-feeding kittens. We’re certified as no-kill here, which means that animals are only put down if they can’t survive so kitten season is an all hands on deck affair. Thankfully you have some time to get used to things before that. The night shift also entails a bit of a security aspect because of the medications that are kept here. But don’t worry, we don’t expect you to do anything about a break in if there is one. Just call the police.”

“I wouldn’t be worried, this place would be a pain to rob.” Montparnasse says without thinking

Enjolras glances over and Montparnasse backtracks a little. 

“I mean, since it’s always got people in it and there’s a dog section I figure most thieves would just knock over somewhere that’s less trouble.”

“Exactly. One of the biggest perks of being open twenty-four hours.” The woman smiles and continues the tour. 

Once the tour was over Montparnasse was taken back to begin training and Enjolras headed out to grab dinner. 

He figured if Montparnasse didn’t out himself as being a former criminal things would go well. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seeing as Montparnasse didn’t abjectly complain when being picked up and ordered a pair of scrubs it’s safe to say that he liked the job. 

Of course Enjolras should have expected the inevitable. 

Monty: Happy early birthday from you to me.

ENJR: What? 

Monty: His legal name is Weeble but I call him Lucifer and he lives with us now. 

Attached was a picture of a weird looking cat. It was lanky and wide-eyed but most notably the black cat was strapped up in a walker. It was cute in a round about way.

ENJR: My apartment allows for 1 cat. Keep this in mind. 

Monty: He’s my son. 

Monty: He has cerebellar hypoplasia but the walker is helping him a lot. 

Monty: He’s so excited to be able to run around with the others.

Monty: I refuse to allow him to go unadopted.

Enjolras honestly can’t remember the last time Montparnasse was this passionate about something that wasn’t money, fashion, or Jehan. Something that could be considered a cause. Enjolras would tell Monty that he was proud if it wouldn’t thoroughly embarrass the ex-thief. 

ENJR: What will he need?

Monty: Don’t worry the shelter is supplying me with everything. 

Monty: Cosette will love the shit out of him too.

ENJR: I’m sure she will. 

She did. Honestly so did he. He had expected to passively exist with the cat but watching it sometimes fight to stand really struck a cord with him. 

The thing could be a terror with its walker. Running around at break-neck speed, playing with anything it could, fighting with anything else. But once that was taken away simple things like standing became an issue. It was Grantaire that pointed out the obvious. 

“Little Lucifer reminds me of his owner. I’ve seen you shake like that when you’ve decided to skip your medication.” He watched as Lucifer shakily propped himself up to drink at his specially designed bowl. 

“I’m closer to his landlord than his caretaker. But I see what you mean. Monty says that he’s getting stronger and starting to learn to compensate some. He might not even need the walker forever. It might be petty but I’m almost jealous of a cat.” Enjolras realizes he’s also a bit proud of the cat, as if Lucifer had a conscious effort in his coping. 

“Enjolras I am jealous of cats every day of my life, sleep in sunlight for hours, eat whenever, the guaranteed ability to lick your nuts. Cats have life figured out.” Grantaire makes a face as he sips at the fake wine Enjolras had gotten him but forces himself to drink the non-alcoholic mixture.

“Minus barbed penises and the fact that they regularly have their testicles removed.”

Grantaire shrugs in defeat at that and they both watch as the dreaded Montparnasse contorts himself into an ungodly position to take a picture for the cat’s instagram page.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was in class one day when Jehan burst into tears. Before he could ask what was wrong his phone buzzed.

Monty: LOOK AT THIS LITTLE FUCKER!

Wait wasn’t this the group chat? Did Jehan add him when Enjolras mentioned planning to bring him to a meeting?

Monty: *video attached

Monty: A KILLER THROUGH AND THROUGH!

The video was of the little cat taking a few unaided steps before pouncing a small toy.

Proseaire: Iim so Proud of him!! 

Enjolras glanced over to see that he was typing while wiping at his eyes. Jehan also apparently updated his name in the group chat again.

Courf: Baby’s first steps!

BigB: Nice!

Feuilly: Cute! What’s got him shaky in the first place?

The next two texts come in at almost the exact same time.

Monty: Cerebellar Hypoplasia. If a cat’s mom gets parvo while they’re pregnant it fucks up the part of the brain that deals with balance and shit. 

Combeferre: It looks like Cerebellar Hypoplasia. A neurological disease. 

Enjolras stares for a moment. Did Montparnasse just beat Combeferre on the draw with a fact? Wow he really did care about this.

Combeferre: Yes, that.

Enjolras wishes he could see Combeferre’s bemusement. 

Jollllly: So it’s like the human version? 

Monty: No idea. Just know that mild and moderate cases do fine with some extra help. Mild cases need to be watched to be sure they don’t fling themselves off a table when they get excited. Moderate ones need some wheels.

Combeferre: It’s similar. Ataxia and need for physical therapy.

Courf: His followers are going to be thrilled!

Courf: Wait is this exclusive content? A sneak preview?

Monty: Damn straight.

Courf: Awesome!

Mariparty: Followers?

Proseaire: my beautiful morning star is a star. Im so proud of him. 

ENJR: He’s got an instagram. Grantaire does the art behind it and Montparnasse takes the pictures. It’s becoming a great platform for animal welfare because it often has guest appearances from other supposedly unadoptable animals.

Monty: Also for showing how kickass this little guy is. 

Mariparty: Like Cosette’s dog Parfait? That’s great!

ENJR: resisted the urge to remind Marius that the dog was technically both of theirs so he could let Lucifer, and by extension Mont, have their moment.

ENJR: Oh no I think Jehan’s been broken. He’s slipped out into the hall.

Proseaire: im jsut so proud

R: If little lucy can make it I’m sure our poet can.

Enjolras hears a shuddering inhale from outside that tells him Grantaire has most assuredly reduced Jehan to an absolute wreck. 

Proseaire: I love him!!!

Enjolras slips out of his seat to go corral Jehan into the bathroom to clean up. He realizes between the messy “I love him so much”es and the “He’s worked so hard”s that he’s not sure if Jehan is talking about the cat of Montparnasse. “He’s so lucky to have someone who loves him like you.” doesn’t make it explicitly clear either. 

Eventually Enjolras just sighs. “Promise not to cry more?”

“Never.” He manages around his stuffy nose.

“I’m not sure which of them you mean but I agree with you.”

Jehan stares at him for a moment before flinging his arms around his neck and sobbing into his chest. 

Enjolras can’t help but laugh a bit as he wraps an arm around him. “No wonder you surround yourself with such morbid things if this is how you react to good news.”

“Its horrible. A curse.” Jehan’s voice is muffled to the point that Enjolras more feels him speak than hears him.

“Not always, Cosette tears up when she’s overwhelmed with joy. Nothing in the world makes me feel more accomplished than watching her grin as her eyes get watery. It’s only uncomfortable when others don’t understand.”

Jehan sniffles before leaning back. “Enjolras may I ask you something? It’s a little personal I guess.”

“I’m holding you in the bathroom as you cry. Ask away.”

“Is Mont your brother? I mean, do you think of him as your brother?” 

Enjolras flinches a little at having the question posed so bluntly. It would make those kisses when they were both young a bit uncomfortable but the other things. Enjolras confiding in him about his mother, about how much he hated that he apparently looks like his father, about how deeply afraid he had been that Valjean’s kindness would vanish behind closed doors. 

And the things Montparnasse had told him in return about running away from foster care to try to find his mother, sleeping in the attic above the florist all by himself and having to break in every night, slipping into libraries to get definitions of the words that hadn’t been covered by an elementary school education. 

Then Mont had gotten caught picking pockets and didn’t take it well. He’d been thrown into the same anger management program that Enjolras had been. Once they became fast friends Enjolras had assumed that him and Cosette pretending to be Montparnasse’s parents on the phone was so that he wouldn’t get in trouble at first. But then he started coming around at night. And then when Enjolras said he could stay he came around every night. 

Hell he even ate dinner with them most nights. Papa always seemed so quietly concerned about him but seemed to know not to push things. When they had to move it only seemed natural to ask Mont if he wanted to come. Where else would he go? I mean he’d probably just drop back out of the school he had just started going back to. So about a week after they moved Montparnasse somehow showed back up at their door for dinner. It was great until Enjolras had to leave for college. Montparnasse mentioned something about getting a job; he apparently started to come to dinner less then eventually just not at all. 

When Enjolras had gotten the text from Mont that he was dating Jehan he was nothing short of ecstatic. He didn’t stop to think that things might have changed and that they may have never really been exactly what they seemed. He was just happy to hear from him. He didn’t care if the man showed up on his doorstep with a dead body.

Shit, Montparnasse was his brother. He was his brother and up until recently he hadn’t even stopped to think about it. Of course he was? Montparnasse had nothing but his fury when they met and by comparison Enjolras had it all. So Montparnasse chose him and his family the way cats will choose people and Enjolras rolled with it because his only concept of friendship came from his sister. 

Enjolras was for once damn happy he’s oblivious. He wasn’t the nicest kid and with the fights he and Mont already would have having that to possibly twist into some sort of jab is the last thing he wanted.

“Yeah.” His voice was a bit strangled. “I don’t…I don’t think he knows that though?”

“Why not?” Jehan cocked his head to one side.

“Because I just now realized?” 

Jehan went from gentle confusion to utter disappointment in about two seconds. “Truly you are living proof that intelligence is not a measure of one trait as while you’re brilliant in politics, literature, and law I’ve met bricks with more emotional understanding.”

“Listen man, traditionally my emotional settings are seething rage and moral indignation so when I’m trying to feel something positive there’s a lot to suppress, there are casualties.” He normally saves this sort of bluntness for Cosette or Grantaire but he might as well. 

“Man?” Jehan repeats incredulously. “Yeah okay I believe you. If that’s actually in your vocabulary.” He then smacked Enjolras in the shoulder. “Tell him! I don’t care if it’s awkward! Tell him damn you!”

“I will I will. I promise.” He grabbed Jehan’s wrist just in case. “I have to hint at it first. Drop big things on him and he runs off.”

“Yeah no shit.” He deadpans.

“Sorry.” Enjolras winces.

“I’m just glad he didn’t hurt himself.” Jehan shakes his head.

“So did he really jump from the third floor?”

“More like scaled down sort of like a cat trying to get down a tree.” He actually looks embarrassed on Montparnasse’s behalf. Enjolras didn’t think someone wearing flower print pants with crocs and a plaid flannel shirt was capable of secondhand embarrassment.

“Idiot.” Enjolras wishes he were here so he could tell him to his face.

“Yeah apparently it’s a family thing.” He grinned.

Enjolras laughs, okay that was fair. “We should get back to class before they think you’ve collapsed in here.” 

“Alright.” Jehan then poked him in the chest. “But I will hold you to your promise.”

“Good. I’ll count on it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Montparnasse in like 20 years- yeah i wanted to be an infamous world renound thief but i accidentally became a vet. at least i can scare shitty kids by telling them i cut open puppies for a living.


End file.
